This invention relates to a method of accelerating the ripening of cheese and an apparatus to be used in that respect.
As regards conventional cheese ripening carried out at temperatures of from 10.degree. to 20.degree. C. the ripening period is from a few weeks to several months dependent on the type of cheese. Long ripening periods imply that cheese producers must invest huge economical resources in the cheese products, large and expensive storage capacity is required and the cheese products necessitate protracted care. The longer the ripening period is, the more the costs of cheese production increase, entailing that there are internationally big economical interests in reducing the ripening period when producing cheese.
Therefore, extensive researches are today being instituted into cheese ripening acceleration. Such research concentrates primarily on the increase of the ripening temperature or on the selection and production of protease systems which, when added to the curd, are capable of increasing the rate of the proteolytic decomposition of casein, thereby increasing the ripening rate.
The ripening temperature of a certain type of cheese is decisive for the characteristics of the completed cheese, in that a constant temperature offers the best ripening quality and, consequently, an increase of the ripening temperature of such a type of cheese involves the risk that the ripening cheese has characteristics differing from those desired.
The increase of the protease concentration in the curd results in the following disadvantages:
the added proteases have a tendency to impart undesired flavours to the cheese, such as bitter peptides,
the cheese ripening controlling becomes more difficult, and
due to the high content of protease the ripened cheese products get soon overripe, i.e. the period during which the cheese can be consumed is shortened and the cheese products should therefore be distributed, sold and consumed within a very short period compared to conventionally ripened cheese.
Moreover, DE Pat. No. 950,104 discloses a method of accelerating cheese ripening, according to which the cheese is subjected to ultra-sound. This method is inter alia said to effect that the ultra-sound cause the cell membranes of bacteria to be destructed so as to liberate inter alia endoenzymes which increase the rate of ripening. An increased concentration of enzymes is thus obtained which involves the same drawbacks as described above.
Thus, there is a large demand on a method of accelerating the cheese ripening, according to which method the ripe cheese possesses the same properties and characteristics as a cheese product of the same type ripened in a conventional manner and it is therefore the object of the invention to provide such a method.